Lakewood Ranch High golf team ends with perfect record

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Four years ago, Lakewood Ranch High seniors Connor Baldwin and Kyle Benson walked onto the course as high school golfers.

At the time, the two never imagined one day having the opportunity to cap off a perfect season with a state championship. The team was simply average and didn’t have the experience to compete against the top teams in the state. The idea of hoisting a state championship trophy was merely an afterthought.

But now, four years later, Baldwin and Benson are no longer just high school golfers. They’re seasoned tournament golfers. They’re undefeated. And most importantly, they’re state champions.

On Nov. 1-2, Baldwin and Benson helped the Lakewood boys golf team capture the Class 2A state championship at Mission Inn Resort & Club’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, capping off a perfect 103-0 season.

“This state championship means a lot to me and the team because we have all worked so hard everyday at practice and during the entire season,” Benson said. “This state championship pretty much just wrapped up the perfect season for us. I can’t ask for anything more.”

Baldwin agreed.

“Winning the state championship means a lot to me, because of all of the hard work that my teammates and I put in during the course of the season,” Baldwin said.

The Mustangs shot a two-day total of 621, becoming the first public high school in Manatee County to win a state championship in boys golf and claiming Lakewood’s second state championship in school history.

Following their state championship, the team broke out the sparkling grape juice and began jumping around together in celebration.

“It was unbelievable,” Lakewood coach Dave Frantz said. “For me, it was the pressure being relieved, but for them it was pure joy. I know that when you’re supposed to win and then you don’t it can be pretty devastating, and I didn’t want that for them. So when we won we were jumping around and going crazy. It was a lot of fun.”

The road to the state championship wasn’t easy for the Mustangs, who put together their toughest schedule to date, winning nine tournaments, including the state championship, across the state.

Lakewood continually faced the best programs across the state, including Spruce Creek — last year’s state champion, who finished second.

So it’s not at all surprising the Mustangs were the favorite heading into the state tournament.

“Everybody kept saying we were the favorite, and in my mind it’s a nice compliment,” Frantz said. “There’s a psychological part of keeping them in the realm of not getting too full of themselves and getting them to keep working hard.

“I was in a couple of restaurants, and people I don’t even know came up to me and said, ‘We’re rooting for you,’” Frantz said. “For a little bit, I knew what it’s like to coach a popular sport. What was interesting was having that expectation knowing that we should win because we’ve beaten every good team in state of Florida; and if we don’t win, then all of that will be forgotten. Nobody remembers the unbeaten if you lost. There was a lot of pressure, and I think the guys felt the pressure.”

Wind gusts of about 35 mph only added to the pressure, as the Mustangs struggled on the narrow 6,800-yard course. Lakewood shot a combined 317 the first day — well off its school record mark of 278, which the team shot in the district tournament.

But luckily for the Mustangs, the entire field faced the same conditions. Lakewood held a two-shot lead ahead of Orlando Olympia and Spruce Creek.

“The toughest part of states this year was overcoming the fact that none of us was on our ‘A’ game,” Baldwin said. “We were all hitting the ball pretty bad, but we did enough to get the job done.”

With winds dying down to 25 mph on the second day, Lakewood was able to maintain its lead, shooting a combined 304 and finishing one stroke ahead of Spruce Creek.

“You definitely don’t want to be behind,” Frantz said. “The five-shot lead can disappear in one hole. I kind of drummed that into the guys — just paying attention to which way the wind is blowing and being more aware.”

Sophomore Ramsey Touchberry shot an opening round 74 and a 77 the second day to finish fifth with a 151. Baldwin finished 10th with a 78 and a 76. Defending individual state champion Danny Walker finished with a 156 followed by Hunter Sagar (160) and Benson (165).

The Mustangs graduate four years from this year’s state champion team, including Baldwin, Benson, Sagar and sixth man Dylan Hogan. But with Walker and Touchberry returning, along with a host of other hopefuls waiting to step up, the future remains bright for Lakewood.

“The faith and trust in each other — that’s what I’m going to remember,” Frantz said. “These seniors showed it all year long … just thinking about them leaving gets me teary because they’ve been building this program since 2008. They’ve grown a lot. I’m going to miss them.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].